Conveying and spreading apparatus.



A. L. MORTON.

CONVEYING AND SPREADING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.15,1912.

z r w 0 m m h ml 0 r 6 I, M Z m E a P a .W\ 4 m e M 0? 1 iiRTHUR L. MORTON, OF MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA.

CONVEYING'ANI) SPREADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1913.

Application filed April 15, 1912. Serial No. 690,954,

- To all whom, it may concern mg lsa specification.

and the like, it is desirable-to first lie it known that I, ARTHUR L. hloiz'rox", a citizen of the United States, residing at Mountain View, in the county of Santa Clara and t ltate .ot Calit'innia, have invented new and oer-tut improvements in Conveying and Spreading Apparatus, of which the tollow- My 'iIi UIltlH! relates to an apparatus for conveyir and spreading fruit such as apricots, i hes and the like, and particularly in pin or;- said fruit after it has been cut,

with the cut faces upwardupon trays where it will afterwz-ird be removed to the drying grounds.

' The invention consists of the parts and the combinationand construction of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 'I is a plan view of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a partial View of the end of the turning and placing apparatus.

For the purpose of rapidly and drying such fruits, particularly as properly apricots cut the fruit in halves, then to remove the pits thercfronnsnd lastly to position the halves with the cut side uppermost, in which position they are removed for drying purposes.

Various devices may be employed for cutting the fruit and removing the pits; suchdevices not forming a part of the present application. I

The apparatus hereshown' for the carrying out of iny invention consists of a main 'frume 2 upon which may be mounted a continuous apparatus for cutting and subsequent positioning of the fruit and placing it in the drying trays. After the frult has been severed and the pits separated therefrom, the pits drop on to a discharge trough 3, and the severed sections of the fruit are mceivedgtupon a platform composed of tonguesor strips 4, from which they fell upon an inclined apron 5", down WlllCll they slide in whatever position they may fall. The accumulation on this platform will be received. by anmpWardly traveling belt couve'yer ,5, upon which are attached a number of spaced, transversely disposed ribs or slats 6. In actual practice these slats are quite thin, and I have found that 1 in thickness is suflicient. As they pass beneath the accumulated fruit upon the apron 5 they will be turned eventually the flat surfaces of the sections are brought into contact with the fiat surface of the upwardly traveling belt 5 and when the flat surfaces so rest upon the con veyer, the edge of each section of the fruit will be encountered by the thin slat 6. As fast as the fruit sections become arranged flat side down they will be carried upwardly resting in rows against the slats The lower end of the conveyor 5 passes around a suitable drum or cylinder 7 mounted upon a shaft 8 which is driven by asprocket gear train 9. The driving member of this sprocket is secured upon the main drive shaft 10 of the apparatus. The conveyer belt 5 is shown as being arranged at an incline, and its upper end passes over a .drum or cylinder'll mounted upon the shaft 12. As the belt passes around the-cylinder 11, the fruit sections'are discharged upon an inclined platform or chute 13 which may be of sheet metal, and the upper end of this inclined surface is brought into close juxtaposition with the surface of the carrying belt 5. The sections of fruit discharged from this belt slide down the chute 1'3 and accumulate at its lower end in a compact continuously arranged mass, the lower sections of which are received by a conveyor belt 14 which runs beneath the lower end of to chute 13, and is supported upon a driving cylinder or drum L5 mounted upon a shaft 16, and at its opposite end is supported by a cylinder 17. The shaft 16 carries a sprocket wheel 18 over which the drive chain 19 travels, driven by a sprocket wheel 20 the shaft 12. The sprocket wheel 18 is loose on the shaft- 16, and is provided with a clutch face adapted to be engaged by a shifta-ble clutch collar 21, which may be operated by a handle or-lever 22.

An important feature of this invention is the means by which after the out fruit has been conveyed from the or rolled until mounted upon one end of chute andtrom the rying belt chute delivered upon the conveyer 14, the

sections may be uniformly and positively deliver upon the tra or other device for drying purposes, witi the flat or cut sur faces uppermost. As here shown, the car- 14 travels around the cylinder 17 and afonnd this cylinder is fitted a semicylindrical shell or hood 23, which is supported upon the shaft which carries the drum or cylinder 17. The surface of this hood 23 is preferably just sufliciently distant from and concentric with the cylinder 17 s as to positi vol y retain the fruitsections with their faces against the surface of the belt or conveyer 14, while they are being carried around the cylinder 17; the hood thus pre- .vents the slipping, dislodgment, or turning, of the fruit sections until they are eventually deposited upon a tray 25, by sliping of! the lower transverse edge of the ood 23. v

By the peculiar relationship of the chute 13 upon w ich the sections 0 fruitare discharged from the conveyer 5, and the position of the conveyer 14 u on which the successive transverse rows 0 fruit sections are received it is insured that the tray 25 willbe compactly filled with upturned sections of fruit symmetrically arranged in transverse rows, all the sectionsbeing placed faces up,-

that is, with the cut surfaces uppermost.

,Tliis apparatus is designed tofill trays 25, whi'ch are portable and capable of being transferred from one positiontofihother, or

to some subsequent apparatus for further treatment. The apparatus is thereforeso constructed that the trays 25 may be inserted beneath the. cylinder 17 and then when the clutch 21 is moved to engage the sprocket wheel 18, the conveyer 14 will be driven and the fruit collected from the chute 13. As the 'front end of the tray 25 is inserted beneath the cylinder 17, the'latter is lifted so as to clear the end of the tray by depressing a lever 26, fulcrumedat 27, and connected bya link 28 to the cylinder shaft, thus lifting the cylinder 17 and the hood 23 sufficient-l high to clear the end of the tray. After this has been done, the lever 26 is released to allow the lower edge of the guiding hood 23 to come down into position just above the front end of the bottom of the tray 25, then as the fruit is fed by the conveyer 14 through the hood 23, it is discharged in successive rows u onthe' tray 25. The tray is automatica ly advanced during the filling by means of rollers 29 secured upon the drum shaft 24 and which rollers rest upon the vertical sides of the tray 25. Thus it will be seen that as long as the conveyer belt ,14 is operative to carry the fruit sections through the reversing hood 23, the friction wheels or rollers 29 shaft 16 to stop resting upon the edg1 of the tray will cause thisto gradually a v pnce' to provide room for the succeeding rows of fruit. An so cumulation of the sections of fruit is in-.

sured at the lower end of the chute 13 b speeding up the conveyer, ways carry a sufiicicntnumber of sections to cause them to collect at the lower end of the chute 13, with a little greater rapidity than they can he carried away by the reversing conveyer 14. After a tray has been en-. tircly filled with the fruit sections, the op erator simply depresses the "lever 26 to lift the reversing hood 23 sulliciently to clear the side walls of the tray 25, and thelatter can then be removed without interference from the apparatus, and conveyed to some other point.- The operator unclutches the the belt 14 when the tray is to be removed.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a fruit conveying and spreading apparatus, the combination with feeding so that it will a mechanism and a conveyer upon which the material is delivered, of aremovable tray positioned below and proximate the delivery end of the conve er, a hood forming a guide through which t e fruit is transferred from the conveyer,-and placed upon the tray in a reversed position, said hood enterin the tray between the sides thereof and dc ivering the pieces of fruit." directly upon the body in successive order, and means for elevating the outer end of the conveyer and the hood out of the tray to permit'the conveyer and hood to clear the side walls of the tray. 1, I

2. In a paratus, the combmation with feeding mechanism and a conveyer upon which the material is delivered, of a removable tray sitioned below and proximate the delivery end of the'conveyer, and a hood forminga guide through which the fruit is transferr rom the conveyer, and placed upon the tray in a reversed position, said hood entering the tray between the sides thereof and deliverin the b0 y in successive order, and means for elevating the conveyer and hood to permit of the removal of the tray with its assem bled fruit sections. 3. In a fruit conveying and spreading apparatus, the combination with feeding mechanism and a conveyer upon which the material is delivered, of

tray in a reversed position, said hood enterfruit conveying and spreading ap-' the pieces of fruit directly upon a removable tray positioned below and proximate the delivery ing the tray between the sides thereof and In testimony whereof I have hereunto set delivering pieces of fruit directly upon the my hand in the presence of two subscribing body in successive order, and means cQnnectwitnesses.

ing with the conveyer for elevating the dis- ARTHUR L. MORTON charge end of the same and the hood to \Vitnesses:

permit of the removal of the tray and its A. S. MOORE,

assembled fruit sections. l J. W. LOVEJOY. 

